Ken Yerro Ilio, one of the two first gay men to marry…

Ken Yerro Ilio, one of the two first gay men to marry in Illinois, has died at 63

Ken Yerro Ilio, seen here, and his husband Ron Dorfman were the first gay men to get married in Illinois. | Vicki Quade

Ken Ilio, one of the two first gay men to marry in Illinois, has died at 63.

Mr. Ilio and Ron Dorfman got married in December 2013 in a ceremony that was expedited because of concerns about Dorfman’s health. He wasn’t expected to live long enough to see same-sex marriage become legal in Illinois in June 2014. Dorfman died about two months after exchanging vows with Mr. Ilio.

They were the second same-sex couple to marry in Illinois. Patricia Ewert and Vernita Gray were married a few weeks earlier in a ceremony that had been moved up because Gray had cancer.

Mr. Ilio, who’d been undergoing dialysis for kidney failure, was found collapsed at his computer Wednesday evening in his North Side condo, according to friends and relatives.

“They tried to resuscitate him for an hour,” said his cousin Jena Yerrow-Malo.

He was pronounced dead at Weiss Memorial Hospital, she said.

Ken Ilio (right) and husband Ron Dorfman.

He and Dorfman, a journalist, were together for more than 20 years. They had many friends and enjoyed parties, nights at Riccardo’s saloon and dining at Hon Kee restaurant.

“He was very gregarious and social,” said Mr. Ilio’s brother Dennis.

He was born in Quezon City in the Philippines, the son of Dominador and Clotilde Ilio. His mother taught elementary school, and his father was a professor of engineering at the University of the Philippines.

Mr. Ilio earned multiple degrees and reinvented himself professionally. His brother said he got a doctor of veterinary medicine degree at the University of the Philippines and a master’s in veterinary anatomy at Massey University in New Zealand. He obtained a doctorate in reproductive biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, according to his LinkedIn page.

Mr. Ilio did urology research at Northwestern University, his cousin said. He taught science classes at Columbia College Chicago. At his last job, he helped with biology instruction at a Hammond-area charter high school, relatives said.

Despite his academic accomplishments, “He never bragged,” his cousin said.

He kept close ties with relatives and friends through his hobby. A gifted photographer, he took beautiful shots of Chicago and its people and gave his pictures to loved ones.